Behind the curtain, any stage crew acts as the cast beyond the cast and gives life and character to any good show, all while staying. Everything from sets, makeup, lights, and microphones all lie in the hands of these select students that spend hours to put on a solid production once the show dates arrive.

In the crew they distinguish roles that require either an immense amount of physical or mental labor.

“Stage Running Crew is essential to the run of any production. We call them ‘ninjas’ because they are expected to be focused, quiet, stealthy, and 100% committed,” said theater director Claude Blanchard. “Theatre isn’t just about the actors. To operate properly, we need the actors, various managers, stage running crew, technicians, and all other production teams working together to create a final product for our audiences to enjoy.”

While actors might be the stars of the show, the crew is responsible for the transitions and overall cleanliness of the entire production. 

“Theater is like a living breathing machine, actors on stage are just one part of the puzzle. We have stage crew, makeup, hair team, prop team, special effect technician and more working backstage… It’s all very tedious and everyone must do their jobs in order for it to work,” said Karson McHendry, member of stage crew for the talent and cast member of The Wizard of Oz.

“We spend many hours perfecting our show. One hundred and four hardworking individuals made up our musical… so much collaboration, blood, sweat, and tears go into our shows,” said Karson.